This invention relates to a charging device for use with an automatic weighing apparatus of the combination computing type, in which articles weighed out by the automatic weighing apparatus are allocated sequentially into respective sections of a container awaiting at a predetermined charging position.
Such automatic weighing apparatus of the combination computing type has a plurality of weighing machines and operates by measuring the weights of articles charged into respective ones of said weighing machines, selecting the combination of articles that gives a total weight equal or closest to a present target weight, discharging the articles from selected ones of said weighing machines, replenishing the emptied weighing machines with new articles to be weighed, finding the next combination of articles to be discharged, and then repeating the foregoing cycle to continue the weighing out of articles in automatic fashion. Since the weighing apparatus of the combinatorial type performs its operation by electronic means, the weighing rate is so high that as many as sixty combinations can be obtained per minute by the process mentioned above. Therefore, when there is only one discharge opening for the articles in the automatic weighing apparatus, assuming that the containers must be transferred separately to the predetermined charging position below said discharge opening, the time necessary to transfer the containers to the charging position represents dwell time for the weighing machines, so that the charging or packaging rate cannot keep up with the weighing rate.
Recently, tray-like containers made of plastic or aluminium foil material have come into greater use for packaging confectioneries or like articles. These containers are obtained by injection or deep drawing and, when molded in this manner, are formed integrally of a plurality of contiguous vessels or container sections. Therefore, since the automatic weighing apparatus has only one discharge opening, it is necessary to sever the container into the respective sections and place them on a belt conveyor or the like for transferring them to the charging position, or to shift the container on the belt conveyor to transfer a new empty container section to the charging position for each measurement performed by the automatic weighing apparatus, the container not being cut into individual sections. In the former case, since the container is cut into individual sections, it is necessary to seal the upper surface of each container section, with a resultant increase in the number of operational steps. In the latter case, it is necessary to transfer each container section to the charging position for each combinatorial weighing operation. Thus the time necessary for such shifting represents dwell time for the automatic weighing apparatus, so that the rate of charging or packaging cannot keep pace with the rate of weighing.